I Want You
by Ellie 5192
Summary: "But the reality was – and here was the kicker – the reality was she had completely fallen in love with him." (reposted from tumblr) Sharon/Andy fluffy one-shot I posted ages ago and am transferring over here. [Edited for typos]


Because M asked! Also, I have such a headcanon that Sharon would always make the first move, because Andy is too busy making googly eyes to notice that she wants a kiss. Fluffy little one-shot of nonsense.

Consider this my Unicorn Challenge for the day.

_**I want you**_

She considered leaving him a note, but a note seemed so impersonal; so planned and methodical, and while she was all those things, this was not the time. A note implied she had some kind of plan, which she didn't. A vague notion was hardly a plan.

So then she thought about wooing him with a candlelit dinner. But given how many dinners they had been on, that seemed out too. She had done everything to blatantly flirt with him; had taken off her glasses, or knocked his foot with her own, even given sultry looks over the candle centrepiece. Either she had lost her touch or he was dense.

Or maybe, worst of all, he was letting it go on purpose. Uninterested, but too shy to say so.

No. Ridiculous. His looks and actions belayed all that; gave him away thoroughly. No, he was just oblivious. He had started to believe his own insistence that they were just friends, that's all; repeated it so often that it was now firmly entrenched in his mind. Which was sweet, because she was the one who had insisted on boundaries in the beginning, so he was honouring that.

But her reasons for remaining distant had given way one at a time – Rusty's new-found security as her son, her now-finalised divorce, her daughter's offhanded remark that she should find a nice fella who would treat her right. There was still the pesky thing of their jobs. But then, even what they were doing with the family dinners would be considered favouritism to some, so really, it was a matter of perspective on that front.

But the reality was – and here was the kicker – the reality was she had completely fallen in love with him. Irrevocably. Both in the sense of friendship and the sense of more. Her happiness was intrinsically linked with his; when he hurt she ached for him; when things were going well she couldn't keep the smile from her face. It was more than just empathy, of that she was sure.

And, okay, so maybe she desired him as well. But that was a given. He's very handsome.

So, naturally that left very few options open to her. She had tried subtle, and she had tried responding to his flirtatiousness or his wayward comments. None of that worked, he always pulled back. Time instead to try the direct approach.

Which is how she found herself sitting next to him in his parked car on a random Thursday night, the both of them deciding on a dinner spot. And also how she found herself biting the bullet and responding to his innocuous question of 'what do you want?' with as blatant a statement as she could manage.

"I want you"

He nodded, initially not hearing. But when he registered what she said he coughed on his own breath for a moment, his eyes wide, his palm gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.

"What?" he choked out, his tongue dry against the roof of his mouth. It was an adorable reaction, if she was allowed to say that. She smiled at him as he looked at her. He looked frightened.

"You heard me. I want you, Andy"

He was stunned into silence, that's for sure. She really did a number on surprising him. Well, it was his own damn fault for being so obtuse, she reasoned, and sat prim and straight in her seat, her body angled towards him, waiting for him to come back to his senses. In the interim she forged on; might as well qualify herself while he was being quiet.

"In my defence, I've tried to make you notice. But you've been hell-bent on remaining the gentleman, which, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the gesture, I do. It's very considerate of you-"

"Sharon, wait… I-"

But he obviously wasn't ready to form full sentences yet, so she kept talking.

"But the fact is, Andy, that as much as all this started as a gesture of friendship… for me, well… it's grown into something far more, and I can no longer ignore it"

"Who put you up to this?" he asked. He still looked a little wild, which amused her more than anything. He truly couldn't fathom that she would be sitting in his car like this, telling him all of this, calm and controlled while he lost his mind. He couldn't see that she desired him, in every sense of the word. It was positively endearing.

"Andy" she said gently, almost an admonishment for the last statement. "I'm not joking with you"

He finally met her eyes properly; catalogued her demeanour and her tone – took note of the serene expression on her face, mixed with her smirk at his expense. "Are you serious?" he whispered.

She nodded. "Yes, I am"

In an instant he flung himself out of his car door.

She was startled, to say the least, making a noise of surprise. They were parked in the spot right in front of two restaurants they often came to, and had their belts off, and were just chatting. So it's not as though the car was moving when he jumped out or anything. But still, it was a bit shocking.

But she watched him run around the front of the car and come to her door, flinging it open, and a part of her understood exactly what was happening.

"Last time" he said, suddenly very serious. "Do you mean it?"

"Of course I mean it" she said softly, looking up at where he was standing, one hand on the door frame and the other on the hood of the car.

"Good" he said, taking her hand firmly and pulling just enough to prompt her out of her seat. She got out willingly, a little noise of surprise on her lips, not quite his name, almost a question. "What on earth…"

He stared at her fiercely, and she was overwhelmed by him. It was clear that, despite his efforts to remain aloof from her, his passion ran deep. She shivered in anticipation.

"There was no way I was going to do this over the centre console like a bad high school date" he said lowly.

And before she could question what he was doing, he took hold of her upper arms and kissed her. It was firm, and insistent, and she melted so willingly that she ended up leaning against the car just next to her open door, his body crowding her completely.

After a moment her arms came up to rest under his, palms on his shoulder blades. His hands left her arms and instead wrapped around her, enveloping her entirely, and trapping her between his chest and the car. Not that she minded, not in the slightest; it was exactly where she wanted to be, among other places.

But the ferocity of his reaction was a surprise. Once the initial shock had worn away he was… well, he was single-minded. She hadn't been kissed so thoroughly in a long time. It was more than just passionate; it was tender too. It was the expression of a lot of unspoken emotions. It felt good.

They parted, breathless and cloudy; eyes unfocussed and heads muddled in the aftershocks of finally crossing a physical boundary. They breathed into each other for a moment, and then she closed her eyes as his forehead came to rest on hers. They were still aligned from toes to chest, arms around each other. Even that alone was intoxicating.

"Now what?" he whispered, pecking her lips again. It turned into a longer kiss, but still chaste compared to the veritable make-out they had just moments before.

"Now I buy you dinner" she said, her voice raw and low. It had been her turn this night; he paid last time. "And then maybe we can go to mine for coffee after? Work out what to do from here?"

The implication was there, of course – it was somewhat deliberate, because she knew full well where she wanted things to go and it was just a matter of having him catch up – but she left her tone light, just to give him a break. If all he wanted was a chat, and maybe another kiss on her couch, she could live with that for the moment.

"That sounds… perfect" he purred. She opened her eyes to look at him, and yes, he was smirking in that charming, enticing way he had. Perhaps he wouldn't need more time after all.

"Good" she nodded, reluctantly letting him go to grab her purse from the passenger side floor.

And that was that. That was how they suddenly transformed from friends and colleagues to lovers. And she was relieved that she had taken the plunge and just done it. This new decisive Sharon was someone she could get used to being; it was refreshing. It yielded wonderful results. Maybe she'd have to start speaking her mind more often.


End file.
